Lalitya

Back in 2011, Agar Aura introduced a completely new genre of Indian oud, with the launch of Aatma - a genre never before experienced by anyone.
Gone were the typical funky, fecal and animalic notes which are typically accepted as part-and-parcel of Indian ouds. Unknown to most folks at that time, these glaringly divergent scent notes (compared to Indian oud wood) are solely the result of crude distillation techniques and unhygenic collection of the oil.

In oils like Aatma, Mokokchung Oud and Sasora Jinkoh, you got to experience the pure unwarped scent of Indian agarwood in the form of oils, devoid of any foreign elements.

And now, we are extremely excited to present Lalitya, our first ever "Gen3" Indian oud oil: the inner scent dimensions of Indian oud.

The raw materials consisted of wild agarwood from the furthest north-eastern reaches of India right below Tibet. For only the second time since inception, Agar Aura ventured out of the usual Indian regions (Assam, Manipur, and Nagaland). Boasting the same grade of raw materials as Pencerahan and Oud Darussalam, this is quite a feat considering the virtually extinct status of agarwood in most of India.

We applied ALL of our very best distillation techniques without any exceptions, and with utter disregard about the effect on cost or inconvenience.

The aim: blinding beauty, jaw-dropping richness, and soul-satisfaction comparable to the likes of Berkilau and Ketenangan.
The result: precisely that!

Say namaste to the world's most unique Indian oud.

No one has ever smelled an Indian oud oil like this, nor can you imagine it by merely reading the description.
If you're an experienced Monkoh nut who has a stash of wild agarwood chips from Tibet, Bhutan, or Arunachal Pradesh then you'll be pleased to know the scent profile is identical to the aroma of Monkoh-heated agarwood from these regions (recommended temperature curve: low-high-medium-low-medium).
For everyone else, this is going to be a totally new experience.

Your first encounter with Lalitya will leave you stunned... as will every subsequent time that you open the bottle.

The first whiff will baffle you and make you question our claim that this is 100% pure Indian oud. In the opening, it smells more Sri Lankan than anything. Sweet spices, mango skin, with an Umami kick.
Continue sniffing, and an awesome Chinese agarwood aroma will fill your lungs (the raw material was procured from close to the Tibet border, after all), but with the scales tipped in favor of sweetness more-so than bitterness. Dare I suggest, a healthy dose of vanilla a la Borneo oud starts to emerge soon thereafter.
And just when you're about ready to rule India completely out of the picture, the unmistakable Indian base notes of sweet hay, warmed spices, and creamy wood emerge.

Typically, most folks prefer to use Indian ouds in colder weather due to their spicy and robust woody character. But Lalitya, with its impressive doses of high notes and deep notes (and everything in between), is an Indian oud you will thoroughly enjoy any time of the year.

I was finally able
to get Lalitya.. its "da bomb". I didn't even know
until 5 mins ago that it was an Indian Oud. Not in
my wildest dreams I would have guess that!
Amazing stuff.. I even get what I understand to be the
"kyara" note that I experienced with ROYAL CHEN XIANG.
You should never release so many awesome oils at the
same time.. Just makes my life difficult... Now it is
Shano Shaukat or Lalitya or Chamkeila..which one?
Hopefully I don't miss the train on these.
S.S. (USA)

This to me is like a perfume. There is no denying the
absolutely unique Taha style. This is such an ethereal
scent. It is a very uplifting scent.
P.O. (USA)

Very different smelling kind of oil. You need to spend
days with it just for it to start telling you anything.
Once you get the 'hang' of it, you sort of start to
understand where this is going. It's definitely as
unique as they come, and Taha's signature "can't wrap
your head around me" note is eminently present.
Take all the top notes of Assam 3000... remove the heart
notes... then add some more top notes... then get rid of
the base notes... then add more top notes to boot! Airy
and elegant. There ARE base and heart notes, but to me
they're just surrealist echoes of the top notes! I
thought it was a highly fractionated oil because of
that, yet Taha says it's full spectrum. Unbelievable!
The great thing about wearing Lalitya is it's like I'm
in a foreign country, where I don't speak the language.
I hear many people speaking all around me, but I don't
know what they're saying. Sort of like waking up one day
and you're in South Korea kinda thing. For me that's
huge because I can wear this without it 'taxing' my
internal workings and ruminations that I've got going on
in languages I do speak! Fantastic way to calibrate my
nose and chillax after a long day of... SMELLING :
D
Something about the tone; it's very raw, zesty, twangy,
like a minimalist, ultra modern piece of art. I don't
know if I can suffice myself with a sample, or if I
should see about securing five tolas....
E.O. (Singapore)

I think I've honed in on Taha's "can't wrap your head
around" note.
As I understand, Taha's 3rd generation distillation
style is geared toward showcasing the intrinsic quality
and fragrance of the wood. I've worn Lalitya for the
past week or so trying to find that inherent scent of
the wood. I used pinpoint applications as not to get
olfactory fatigue all the way to very heavy
applications, trying to wrap my head around it before I
came to a realization. The wood and the wood when gently
heated will invariably have the scent of wood in
addition to the resin; the resin being what truly makes
agarwood oud. With Lalitya I feel that Taha, whether
intentionally or not, went a step further. He somehow
removed even the scent of the wood and captured the
scent of the resin itself. Ethereal, medicinal and
heavenly
L.W. (USA)

For those who prefer their Indian oils non-barnyardy,
Lalitya is a great choice. I get butter, woods, and dry
spices at the start, with hints of gentle florals and
tart fruits (not sure which). The butter recedes,
leaving the woods and spices. About 4 hours in, and I am
indeed starting to get that astringent medicinal aroma
of Chinese oils that Taha mentions in his description.
Very nice! Looking forward to its development the rest
of the day.
J.S. (USA)

Lalitya ... Ohhhhh myyyyy god.
It's PURE PURE PURE PERFUME.
It's the first Gen 3 Oud oil that I started enjoying
from the first snifffffff.
Extremely beautiful aroma to an infinite extent.
SubhanAllah ... I was thinking ... how can a tree could
produce such a an extraordinary beautiful aroma in pure
form without any blends.
M.O. (Dubai)

Initially I found your oils to be light when compared to
others in terms of performance, when in fact I now
believe the contrary and that's because it's what I feel
is your distinct signature. Your oils have a piercing
sterility, an uncanny cleanliness...
Your oils are the heart essence of the agarwood, after
it's been gently heated and after the smoke has cleared.
They are that scent that remains and lingers, the true
scent of the resinous heart once the smoke has faded,
clarity like crystal, clear and strong. With nothing to
obscure or weigh it down while being just as potent and
long lasting.
L.W. (USA)

The smell has become more and more deeper and some
smells that i have never encountered. For a matter of
fact i have never encountered anything like these
oils in my life before.
I just loved the lalitya. You know what, its not loving
any oil in particular. All the oils that i have as
samples have so much uniqueness in them.
P.K. (India)

I totally licked the Lalitya sample dry. I smell earth,
rich fertile dirt. Then sweet like cherry mixed
with rich loam, then wood, and that lasts. Wood
with a tang!
C.G. (USA)

Indian oud deliciousness. I have some pretty good
Indian chips that I burn at home and it's a very good
representation. Super complex and delicate but strong at
the same time.
M.N. (Canada)

Lalitya is very special; uncapped but still the dipstick
in I can smell some great Indian smell; when I remove
the dipstick then that changes and that reminds me a lot
of the likes of Berkilau which is very exciting. On skin
the oil is awesome, that a la Berkilau smell which
develops into the finest indian oil to finally being
left with sheer agarwoodiness.
A.K. (France)

Oh my, I have been smelling oudhs for a very long time
but I have never smelled anything so different and
beautiful.
A.W.K. (USA)

What a great oil! There's no barnyard..... I can smell
cannibis, tea notes and the scent is very powerful and
long lasting on my skin.
It's one of the best Indian oils I've smelled for sure :
)
I.K. (USA)

Lalitya is very strong - I got no olfactory fatigue with
that one, and 10hrs later [...] commented how strong it
was!
R.S. (Australia)

It has a Hash tone in the background. It has an aged
balsamic feel, incredible & amazing
I.R. (Canada)

Man, the Hindi smells like exotic spices simmering in
ghee as it gently warms on your arm... It's very
pristine, almost like a spiced tea type of experience...
with the butter haha... very pleasing to the senses.
T.G. (Dubai)